Two city police officers are being sued on a claim that they shot a family dog in front of its 12-year-old owner after entering the backyard of her Enfield Street residence without a warrant.

Police claimed that a snarling St. Bernard charged at them when they went into the yard to investigate a report that guns were stashed in a vehicle there.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin Monday before Judge Robert N. Chatigny in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

Glen Harris, who is listed as the minor's guardian, filed the federal lawsuit in 2008 against the city of Hartford and two officers who were at the 2006 shooting scene, Officers John O'Hare and Anthony Pia. Pia is now a detective. Harris' lawyer, Jon L. Schoenhorn, declined to comment, citing the upcoming trial.

Calls to O'Hare, Pia and other police staff were not returned. The lawyer representing the officers, Thomas R. Gerarde, also could not be reached.

According to court documents, the Harris family had two St. Bernards that were "good-tempered and obedient" and "never bit anyone."

The 12-year-old, a girl identified only as "K.H." in court documents, had developed a special relationship with one of the dogs, named Seven.

"She felt she could talk to him and that he would listen, understand, and comfort her in a way that no one else could," a court memorandum states.

On Dec. 20, 2006, according to the memorandum, O'Hare and Pia walked into the Harris' backyard at 297 Enfield St. without a warrant. As they rounded the back corner of the house, they saw a St. Bernard, Seven, begin to move toward them. They turned and ran back the way they came, along the north side of the house, toward the front yard, the document states.

The girl ran around the other side of the house "in an effort to head off Seven's path through the front yard," it states. The girl heard two shots before she got to the front yard.

When she arrived, she saw O'Hare standing over Seven, who had fallen to the ground. The dog was breathing heavily and his tail was wagging weakly, the document states. She screamed, "Don't shoot my dog."

According to the document, "O'Hare looked at K.H., then back to the dog, and shot the dog in the head." The girl ran to the dog, screaming and crying, after which O'Hare told her, "Sorry, miss, but your dog isn't going to make it," it states.

The third bullet caused the dog's death, the memorandum states. The document states that the girl had suicidal thoughts after the shooting and was hospitalized.

The suit accuses the officers of conducting an "illegal search," calling their presence a "warrantless invasion." With the exception of the driveway, the entire property is enclosed by fences or gates, and there were three "Beware of Dog" signs posted on the property, it states.

But according to a nine-page incident report filed by police, O'Hare and Pia had received a tip from a reliable source that two handguns were stashed in an abandoned vehicle in the backyard of 297 Enfield St. They went into the yard about 3:20 p.m., and a large, full-grown St. Bernard "immediately began to bark and snarl," the report states.

Both officers ran toward the front of the house with the dog in pursuit. Pia was able to get to a sidewalk on the other side of a fence, but O'Hare ended up in the front yard "with the dog running directly at him," it states.

O'Hare was unable to elude the dog, the report states, which was "showing its teeth." He pointed his gun at it and yelled for it to get back, but the dog only hesitated momentarily before advancing again, it states.

The dog lunged at O'Hare, who fired three times, hitting it in the head and chest from 3 feet away, the report states.

Pia said the dog was trying to bite O'Hare's legs as he was running.

The report says nothing about a pause between the second and third shots or the girl witnessing the shooting  a point the defendants are expected to contest in court.

The suit claims that O'Hare's actions were "so extreme, callous and outrageous that they fell outside the scope of acceptable police behavior," in violation of the due-process clause of the Constitution.

It also claims that they entered the property illegally and that O'Hare intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees.

A senior assistant corporation counsel for the city, Nathalie Feola-Guerrieri, said, "The city is confident that the officers will be found to have acted justifiably under the circumstances."

I generally like to give the cops the benefit of doubt, but in this case, they went into a posted fenced area without a warrant. Had they gotten a warrant, and or had the owners put the dogs up, this wouldn’t have happened.

Thugs are thugs, badges or not. They need to be put down like the thugs they are. I say shoot the guy just like he shot the dog, and use the “I don’t think he’s going to make it” line before the one into his brain.

People like this are just evil and need to be permanently removed from this earth.

I think one of the worst things that comes from this crap is that it erodes peoples trust in all cops. I wish cops themselves would internally take care of these people in their own self-interest, the way they need to be taken care of, but they don’t.

Its only a matter of time before a pet owner, wracked with grief, caps a cop for killing his dog. Then the sparks will fly.

I think you're right. If the cop overreacts, as they tend to do, I bet the pet owner beats them in court. Temporary insanity would be the defense, I guess, and with a good lawyer talking to a jury, the party might walk out of the court, a free man or a free woman.

Police reports use language intended to make the citizen look as bad as possible.
I remember my ticket last year for going 34 in a 30 mph zone. The ticket stated that I was “recklessly traveling at a high rate of speed.”
Cops do nothing to prevent crime, absolutely nothing. Their entire purpose is to document a crime after the fact and to collect taxes from the citizenry through speed traps and minor traffic infractions.

"O'Hare was unable to elude the dog, the report states, which was "showing its teeth." He pointed his gun at it and yelled for it to get back, but the dog only hesitated momentarily before advancing again, it states. "

That kid will not only suffer grief. She has to deal with the fear and rage of terror. She’s a crime victim. For a lot of people, watching someone murder your dog in cold blood is like witnessing a member of the family being murdered. Poor kid.

Dead dogs don’t have vet bills. This was a calculating cop, actually thinking he’d be found in the wrong and have to pay the vet bills himself.

I can’t believe the attorney for the city fought the suit or expects to win when there was no warrant. There are only a few situations when entering a property without a warrant is legal, and they all involve imminent danger or pursuit of a suspect. I don’t think following a tip about stashed weapons would qualify.

39
posted on 05/28/2012 7:46:27 PM PDT
by Kellis91789
(The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.)

"While arguing motions outside the presence of the jury, Gerarde told Judge Robert N. Chatigny that the officers' presence on the property was justified under the law, in part because it was an emergency. Police had received a tip from a gang member that two illegal guns were under the front seat of a Nissan Maxima in the backyard of the house at 297 Enfield St.

But Schoenhorn likened O'Hare's presence on the property, without a warrant, to his having "illegally come into a house."

Cops have become increasingly thuggish. They are taught an elitist philosophy at Police Academies which both places them above the average citizen and also gives them the idea they are military troops.

I hope these bastards are taken care of appropriately by the courts, but since the judges and prosecutors work hand in glove with them, I am not optimistic.

One of these days a home owner is going to shoot a cop, or cops, that shoot his/her dog(s). If they do I hope they use the "I felt threatened, my life was in danger" BS that cops use when they kill dogs.

Hey, he shot my dog for no reason I thought he was going to kill us all so I took him out. Self defense and justifiable IMO.

It is only a matter of time until some cop runs into the dog/home owner who will take matters into their own hands.

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